For this week's episode, I talked to Doron Townsell. Doron is a Brookladelphian via a few cities in between. His family is from Philadelphia, but he was born in St. Louis then moved back to Philly as a kid, then moved to the Midwest for college and now is back on the east coast in Brooklyn.

Put two journalists together in a barber shop and what do you get? An awesome podcast interview covering politics, gentrification, clubbing, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Detroit and the many places in-between.

This week's episode of the Hello Brookladelphia! Podcast comes to you from The Brooklyn Historical Society's Main Library. They were nice enough to let us use the space for a couple hours. We met up with Queon Martin, a friend of The Brookladelphian and a born and bred Brooklyn creative.

This week's episode features Rafiq Kalam Id-Din II head of the Teaching Firms Of America - Professional Preparatory Charter School in Bed Stuy. Rafiq was born and raised in Philadelphia and now lives in Brooklyn. Our second guest is Dari Litchman, a Brookladelphian by proxy. She spent 15 years in living in Philly and moved to Brooklyn about 15 years ago.

This week’s episode is a bit different. It’s more of a “best of” episode. We’re doing Hello Brookladelphia! differently because these were interviews I conducted before deciding to turn it into a podcast. Since this is Episode 3, I’m going to give you three Brookladelphians. We have Jack, Sophie and Lauren.

For this week's installment of The Hello Brookladelphia! podcast we talked with Hannah Feragen and Conrad Brenner. Hannah is a native Philadelphian living in Brooklyn. She’s a Brookladelphian through and through. During our conversation she said, “It’s cool to think, the rest of you exist because of us." I think that's as Philly proud as it gets. Conrad is also a native Philadelphian and still lives there. He’s not necessarily a Brookladelphian, but the work he’s doing with his insanely popular Streets Department blog deserves some recognition.

Stephen Powers AKA Espo is the epitome of a Brookadelphian. He's a talented artist and his work can be seen in the heart of West Philadelphia and it's just one block away from where I grew up. In 2009, he decorated Market Street with messages of love for his "A Love Letter For You" project. He showed love for his adopted home with a similar project at the Fulton Mall in Downtown Brooklyn aptly named, "A Love Letter For Brooklyn." Espo came up in Philly in the 80's and 90's alongside The Legendary Roots Crew. In fact, there is a video (below) of Black Thought rhyming and Questlove laying down a beat while Espo works his magic in the background.

Fast forward to today and Stephen's artwork can be seen all over the world. One of his most popular works is his project along the El train in West Philly. In 2009, Espo scaled rooftops along Market Street for the project. Not to be outdone, Steve completed a similar project at Fulton Mall in Downtown Brooklyn. The parking garage near Macy's is covered with messages of love. Snap your photos of the building while you can because it's scheduled for demolition this year. Espo's art is sign painting. But these aren't your typical "Do Not Enter" or "One Way" signs. Espo's artwork evokes feelings of nostalgia, humor and love. His work leads you home even though you may already be there.

This year Espo was commissioned by The Brooklyn Museum. He assembled a ragtag group of artists to come in and turn the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery into an tribute to Brooklyn's, Coney Island. And just like a true Brookladelphian, he gave a few nods to his Philly roots. "Coney Island Is Still Dreamland (To a Seagull)," has been a resounding success and it's been extended to March. After stalking Espo, (stopping by his Brooklyn shop and several emails) I was finally able to talk to him at his exhibition. We chatted about Brooklyn, Philly and building a four lane highway going from Brooklyn to Philadelphia.

Chris Scott

Brookladelphian, Christ Scott is a talented chef who runs the restaurant, Brooklyn Commune in Windsor Terrace. Chris grew up just outside of Philadelphia in Coatsville. He moved to Philadelphia to go to Temple University. After spending about 15 years in Philly cooking with a who's who of the city’s elite culinary minds, he upped and moved to Brooklyn. He says, without much of a plan he landed a gig at CNN as it’s executive chef. That means he prepared meals for some of the biggest names on the planet. The Clintons and Nelson Mandela are just two of the big names he’s cooked for. Now, he can add me to that wonderful list. More on that in a second.

After a few years at CNN, Chris decided he wanted to strike out on his own. In 2010, he opened Brooklyn Commune with his wife. Brooklyn Commune is tucked away in one of Brooklyn’s remaining (sort of) secret neighborhoods, Windsor Terrace. With places like Brooklyn Commune, it probably won’t stay a secret for very long. Since its opening, Brooklyn Commune has been showered with (well deserved) awards and recognition. The success is helping Chris grow. He’s working on a new restaurant right next door named, Butterfunk Kitchen. It will incorporate two of Chris’s loves, food and music.

If the food at Brooklyn Commune is an indication of what's to come at Butterfunk Kitchen, Brooklyn needs to watch out. During my visit, Chris made me the avacodo and salmon toast and it was nothing short of spectacular. I have never had toast as satisfying as Brooklyn Commune's. After talking with Chris, it's clear he's all in when it comes to Brooklyn and looks forward to bridging the gap between Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

Latest & Greatest

Brookladelphia’s Department of Public Interest invited six gentlemen to take part in a discussion to about style and fashion. In the social sphere, extremes are often highlighted. On one side of the spectrum, Men of Color are seen peacocking with colorful suits and on the other, they're decked out in the latest streetwear. These styles are a beautiful thing when done right. But, with today's curated algorithms, we often we find ourselves in a bubble of content, inundated with only one slice of life and experience. This project is aimed at shading in the colors between black and white. Initially, the chat focused on style diversity within the Black experience but developed into an enlightening discussion on what it means to be an American.

I’m happy to be apart of The George Hannah Society at The Brooklyn Historical Society. It's a new initiative and its goal is to promote Brooklyn’s rich history and culture. History is a true love of mine and this partnership will allow me to help share and promote it to Brooklyn, Philadelphia and beyond. Come on out to tonight’s First Friday. It’s all about Love. Valentine’s Day is less than a couple weeks away. Why not look at some vintage love letters straight from the BHS archives. Plus, there will be live music and Brooklyn Brewery beer. Join us tonight Friday, Feb 5th from 5-9pm

Snow bunnies got a healthy dose of snow this weekend. Jonah dumped nearly two feet of snow on Brookladelphia. Once the (snow) dust settled a winter wonder was revealed. It was the first time in a long time, I've been out playing in the snow, instead of working in it. I took full advantage. Enjoy.

Check out my attempt to look professorial as I meandered through Fairmount Park. The background may look familiar. That's because it's the backdrop for "12 Moneys" and M.Night Shyamalan's "The 6th Sense" and most importantly, it's in the same neighborhood as my Alma Mata Franklin Learning Center high school. Take a look at how I put together an outfit that would make me feel right at home in the teachers faculty.

Technology is making our world smaller and allowing artistic expression to become much more accessible. This blog is a clear example of that, but social media has put the movement in overdrive. Photography, a 150 year old piece of technology, used to be a laborious task. Yet, now it can be shared with the world in seconds, thanks to social media apps like Instagram. This past weekend I had the wonderful chance to take over The YesWilliamsburg Instagram feed and show off my photography (and fashion) skills.

Celebrating the new year and my birthday was a lot of fun. I picked up some nice accessories for the evening. I had a celebratory red lapel flower and a champagne pin from Pintrill, a local (Brooklyn Based) pin shop. The fireworks at Penn's Landing might be the best fireworks I've seen. The real treat began earlier in the day with my birthday present, a drone!